Merry Christmas!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I will warn you all right now that this post has many, many pictures. I have such a hard time choosing from so many! Our Christmas Eve was fun. The kids were very excited about Santa coming to see them. And Elizabeth was good at remembering the true meaning of Christmas whenever I asked her about it. James got off work early, which was nice, so that he could spend part of the day with the kids and I. Mom and I worked most of the day on getting dinner made. We opted to have dinner on Christmas Eve so that we could be lazy on Christmas and just hang around the house. After we had dinner the kids opened their pajamas. Clay was so excited because he thought we were going to open all the presents. You can imagine the meltdown that came from that when he realized he only got to open one.

Analyn had a separate pajamas opening time. All three of the kids were sick and on antibiotics all week. So Analyn had been sleeping a lot. She didn't wake up until after the other kids were in bed. She really didn't know what to think about the paper, or the pajamas either. Poor kid was still so tired!

Christmas day arrived and the kids were so excited! I was excited too because they didn't wake us up until 7 am and we didn't have attempts to get up in the middle of the night. First thing Lizzie asked when she got up was if Santa had come. Normally we will all climb into our bed and read the story of Jesus' birth from the bible. However, with the baby being sick and still sleeping we opted to skip it this year. I was proud of Lizzie because throughout the day she would bring up why we were really celebrating Christmas. Clayton was excited but overwhelmed at first too! His first stop was to check out the stockings. This kid won't keep his pajamas or diaper on a lot of the time. Hence the red duck tape. One morning I went into their room to find that Clayton had gone to the bathroom all over the floor. After having to clean up that mess I have started to duck tape his diaper at night so he can't get it off. Soon I will potty train him, but not quite yet!

Clay got a workbench with tools,

And Elizabeth got a play kitchen.

Analyn got a build-a-bear bunny from Santa. She loved it (along with a few other stuff toys she got).

We were able to skype with James' family in Tahoe while we waited for Grandma and Grandpa to get up. It was fun to get to actually see them and talk to them. Finally I let Clay and Liz go and wake up Grandma and Grandpa.

Uno flash! This game is so much fun! James and I are really into games and movies so every Christmas we always get at least one game and many movies to enjoy later.

Unwrapping the presents was chaotic this year. I was bummed because there wasn't much order to it, but what can you do with 2 toddlers who are excited to open presents. Clay even started trying to open presents that were to other people.

Analyn did pretty good. She even helped open some of her own presents. 9 times out of 10 she was much more interested in the paper that came off the gift than the gift itself, but I think she did pretty good.

So excited for this gift! James got me a sticker maker for my scrapbook stuff. This will go great with my cricut because the shapes and letter it cuts out are really hard to get glue on without getting it ever where. I can't wait to try it out!

We were all very blessed! The kids were spoiled rotten again this year (thanks to our friends and family). But we really enjoyed the memories we got to create! This will be our last first Christmas ever and I'm really not that sad about it. We had a wonderful time together as a family and getting to play with the kids and enjoy some fun new things too. Hope you all had a fun and safe Holiday!

The Girls

My kids have a special little bond. They get along really well when you consider they are at the toy hogging, not sharing, obnoxious toddler stage. But it warms my heart that it's so obvious that they all love each other. Analyn smiles and her eyes light up when she sees her brother and sister. Clayton and Elizabeth will run up to the other if they had to go somewhere and hug each other and say, "I missed you!" I love it, and I love how I get to listen to them giggle and play all day (most of the time they giggle).

Analyn was trying to crawl to me and Elizabeth intercepted her. Analyn thought this new "game" was a hoot!

Oh my! I never know what to do with this girls hair. Elizabeth and Analyn are doomed to have monstrously thick hair like me. When I got Lizzie's hair cut professionally last year the hair stylist said she'd never seen a 3 year old with so much hair. And Analyn is following suit. Analyn is not very cooperative though when it comes to me trying to pull it up. So it was time for another haircut!

Yes, my 10 month old baby has already had a 2nd haircut! Honestly I can't believe I've had to cut her hair again. I didn't cut Lizzie or Clay's until they were over a year old. At least now it is not in her face and she can see a little more easily. In this picture she is demonstrating her clapping skills.

Gingerbread Houses

Last year Lizzie decorated her first gingerbread house. It's amazing what they remember because when the decorations started going up, she started asking when she got to decorate another house. Well last year it was a little treat for just her, so I cheated and bought one of those kits. This year I wasn't going to pay $20+ to get 2 kits, because if Lizzie had one, Clay would want one. So I made it into our family home evening activity. I had toyed with the idea of making my own gingerbread, cutting the pieces out and baking them. But then I came back to reality and realized I didn't want to do that especially with a baby that can crawl up the stairs now and is constantly at my feet. So I bought some gingerbread flavored graham crackers. When I was a kid I remember one year we built houses using melted sugar instead of frosting. Well I tried that and apparently melting sugar is a lot harder than it looks. So, I had to resort to frosting. I knew it would be easier if I built the houses while Lizzie was at school, that way they would be set and sturdy by the time we put candy all over them. Well I had a hard time with that stupid frosting, and there were a few times when I seriously almost went and got my hot glue gun. I finally got the hang of it on houses 3 and 4 though! It was a labor of love, but when I saw how much the kids enjoyed it the entire afternoon full of frustration was worth it.

Clay was so patient waiting for me to get things set up and clean up dinner. Clay and James got to decorate the first house that was my learning process. I put a big on glob of frosting on the cardboard and told James to spread it around for some snow in the "yard". Before James got to it though Clay started helping himself and was putting candy everywhere.

Grandma was able to join us too. We missed Grandpa who was in Wendover refereeing some basketball games. I know Dad would have got a kick out of Clay. That kid was so excited he never stopped talking. And when he gets excited he talks really fast and then you can hardly understand him.

Analyn wanted to see what was going on of course, and as long as I kept some snacks coming her way she was content to just watch on the sidelines.

Clay decided that Mater and McQueen needed to be involved too. I'm sure if we had let him he would have brought up Handy Manny too. James was incredibly patient with Clay, glad he volunteered to help him. Clay was so proud of their house.

Mom and her house. Analyn only gets fussy when Grandma or I aren't doing anything. She then wants to be held.

Grandma gave her a taste of a candy cane. At first we though she liked it, but then she made a funny face and dropped it onto the bar.

Me and my house

Lizzie always takes the longest when we do a project like this. I finally had to time her because it was way past her bedtime. She's a perfectionist and of course she wouldn't let anyone help her at all.

And Lizzie with her house.

Close up of Lizzie's. She liked my idea of making a heart with the candy canes. She had a hard time with the frosting though to decorate anything else on the house, but wouldn't let us help her.

The boys' house. James said Clay's little clump of stuff on the left makes him think that their house is a redneck house (you'd have to be a Jeff Foxworthy fan to get it).

Close up on mine

And Grandma's house.

The kids had a blast, and Clay is trying to be sneaky and get candy off the houses now.